Relative to Luo Hongjuan’s relief, Old Mrs. Han and Han Ximing were stunned, particularly Han Ximing who had intended to lecture Han Tao a bit, then have him beg for forgiveness and move past the issue. Although after the recent commotion, Han Ximing knew asking for a loan again would be too much, and even if he were willing to ask, would Luo Hongjuan agree? Even if Luo Hongjuan agreed, would Han Tao? Perhaps Luo Hongjuan would have been willing to prepare a generous red envelope for Han Jun initially, but now...

Thinking of this, Han Ximing felt a surge of grief and indignation. He felt like a miserable wretch. He had always assumed his wife was just a dead weight, and his son was useless, but at least he had a supportive mother who would unconditionally help him. Now, he realized his mother was actually the biggest, most egregious dead weight of all. If it hadn't been for her, would things have turned out this badly? Moreover, even if they had to cause trouble, it shouldn't have been these past two days. Considering how much money the wedding was short, they were counting entirely on Luo Hongjuan, but now, alas...

Han Ximing was riddled with internal conflict, while Old Mrs. Han gasped for breath. After a long while, she pointed a finger at Han Tao and declared, "You unfilial son and grandson, how could the Han family have a grandson like you?" Although she had never truly regarded Han Tao as a proper grandson, Han Tao’s words just now had inexplicably instilled a sense of reverence in the old woman toward their ancestors. With age, she had become quite devout concerning these so-called spirits and deities. She always intended to live a good life to accumulate blessings for Han Jun, her favorite grandson, hoping his future achievements would surpass those of the unworthy descendant, Han Tao. But she never expected Han Tao to utter something about marrying into the wife's family. She might not care whose surname Han Tao’s son carried, but in her eyes, once Han Tao married out, would he still be a Han family member? No matter how successful he became, he would only help his wife's maternal relatives. This was hardly good news for the old Han family. "Don't forget you are a descendant of the Han family, don't forget you have a cousin, Han Jun. You are brothers. As the elder brother, you must remember to help Han Jun. Aren't you going to the US? Once you establish yourself there, you must bring him out..."

Wang Qiqi never expected this old biddy to harbor such an idea; she genuinely felt like spitting blood. This old crone truly overestimated her own importance. She was even thinking of having Han Tao take his cousin out. Heaven knew this boy was a master at trifling with women; besides being utterly incompetent, he was good at causing trouble. And she even mentioned he could help with housework—truly brazen and shameless. Wang Qiqi felt that Wang Dagui and Wang Rui, compared to Han Tao’s grandmother, were relatively civilized; they were definitely not as extreme. They hadn't dared to tear off all pretense and demand that Wang Qiqi take care of Wang Rui in such a manner.

Originally, this was a domestic matter for the Han family. Not to mention that this granddaughter-in-law hadn't officially entered the fold—oh, wait, officially married Han Tao into the Wang family—the problem was that the old woman's words grew increasingly outrageous. "Even though you are Han Tao's grandmother and a senior, may I ask you to mind your language? My cousins are living quite well now, certainly better than those of you who just cling to the ancestral property. Furthermore, may I ask if you considered that Han Tao is a descendant of the Han family when you drove his entire family away NN years ago? And after Han Tao's father passed away, you confiscated the house under his father's name, citing that my mother-in-law would remarry and no longer belong to the Han family. Based on these reasons, you long ago stopped considering Han Tao a descendant of the Han family, and you never once invited them back for a reunion dinner during New Year or festivals, even though my mother-in-law still hasn't remarried. Now that Han Tao is successful, you suddenly remember he's a Han descendant. I truly admire your audacity to even mention this. I ask you, as grandsons, does Han Jun have something Han Tao doesn't? I heard my Han Tao was often bullied by his younger brother, Han Jun, when they were kids. I wonder how the elders educated Han Tao back then. Now that everyone is grown up, you expect Han Tao to remember he has a younger brother he must take care of? Just thinking about it sends shivers down my spine. Relatives this incompetent and prone to disaster actually have the nerve to comment on my relatives? Hmph."

"I know that by saying this, you will accuse me of disrespecting my elders and the young. I apologize; I do not care about such reputations. Han Tao, would you marry a fierce wife?" Wang Qiqi proudly lifted her head and looked at Han Tao, asking him.

Han Tao looked at Wang Qiqi, who stood fighting right beside him, and patted her head. "How could I mind? I know exactly how spirited you are; I love the spirited you." When he was younger, Han Tao might have preferred gentle women, but watching his mother struggle all those years, he felt he should find a strong girlfriend—a woman worthy of him, someone who would face things together, whether alone or as a pair. "Relatives, relatives. Besides blood ties, there are many other things. And as for the Han family, aside from the fond memories my father left me, the Han family to me is just a surname. Mom, you don't need to worry about our reputations because of them. All the agreements were written down back then; we left with nothing. The Han family has no right to dictate our lives."

Luo Hongjuan knew her son was saying this for her benefit. He had always been dissatisfied with her attempts to maintain good relations with the Han family, though he hadn't spoken out against it before. This time, however, he firmly stated his position. Luo Hongjuan was also quite angry. "Mom, we'll leave now. I will attend Han Jun's wedding tomorrow." Luo Hongjuan had originally planned to give a rather substantial red envelope, but now she felt five hundred was more than enough. Since Han Tao’s future wedding clearly wouldn't invite these relatives, there was no thought of recouping costs; thus, the more she gave, the more she lost. Moreover, even if Han Tao held a banquet for his wedding later, Luo Hongjuan doubted Xue Hong would be generous enough to return a large red envelope.

Luo Hongjuan walked to the door, then turned back. "Regardless of how you view my son and me, we are reasonable people. These tonics were bought by Tao Tao and Qiqi after running around all day. We won't come to pay New Year's respects this Spring Festival. Tao Tao flies to the US on the third day of the New Year. He was supposed to leave as soon as the winter break started, but because of Jun Jun’s wedding, no matter what our relationship was before, as a cousin, he had to attend. Fortunately, the US side agreed, and the school teacher agreed that Tao Tao could report later. If we had known you felt this way, we might as well have let Tao Tao go to the US earlier."

Although Luo Hongjuan was furious, she still directed Han Tao and Wang Qiqi to place the gifts on a small table nearby before turning and walking out. Old Mrs. Han and Han Ximing initially thought Luo Hongjuan returned because she was embarrassed by the crowd waiting outside the door. Just as they were about to say something to salvage the situation, they noticed Luo Hongjuan actually placing the gifts Han Tao and the others brought onto the table. Although Old Mrs. Han did not want to look, she absolutely refused to let her eldest daughter-in-law's family see her satisfied. However, she was shocked by the gifts the young couple brought for her. While Jun Jun's fiancée had brought many things when she visited, not this many, and these included items for the son and daughter-in-law. "Are these all for me?"

Han Tao nodded. "Regardless of how you view us, you are my father's mother, nothing more. Grandma, you are getting old, and I hear Han Jun's wife is also pregnant. You are about to become a Great-Grandmother soon. You should worry less about some things; children and grandchildren have their own fortunes." In Han Tao’s view, that boy Han Jun had been utterly spoiled by the family—or rather, by his grandmother and his mother. His mother had schemed so much, all in hopes of giving everything the Han family possessed to this son. Yet, this good son and good grandson stood silently in the back just now, not uttering a word. Han Tao thought this was the result of being spoiled by elders, which served as a warning to him: if he ever had children, he absolutely would not dote on them this way, lest he raise an ungrateful wretch and die of anger.

Old Mrs. Han was so enraged she nearly spat blood. Her grandson’s words clearly implied she worried too much! "Don't bother coming to help tomorrow; just go to the hotel." She sighed afterwards. "I originally thought to use the great celebratory day to introduce Han Tao properly to the family relatives, but it seems that won't happen now."

Old Mrs. Han’s words almost made Han Tao and Wang Qiqi burst out laughing. Han Tao was already in his twenties, and his grandmother was only now mentioning introducing relatives to him! "I think that's unnecessary. During the most painful times for our family, we managed to pull through without the help of those relatives. Now that our lives are better, there is absolutely no need for us to rely on relatives for help, nor do we have the energy to help them." Humph, Han Tao clearly understood Old Mrs. Han wanted to show off, to imply that the Han family still had capable descendants. But how could Han Tao let her have her way? Besides, those relatives were the quickest to snatch up any benefits, but if there was nothing to gain, they would be impossible to find, even until death.

Old Mrs. Han looked at her grandson, who was sharp-tongued and unapologetic, and finally lost all her temper. She could only manage, "You've been in the US too long; you have no manners at all."

"A wife follows her husband after his death; this husband should be the eldest son. I just wonder if Grandma has followed this principle." Fine, if she wanted to discuss etiquette, Han Tao didn't mind debating with the old woman about what constitutes Chinese etiquette. "The eldest son inherits the family fortune, and upon the eldest son's death, it passes to the eldest grandson. But I haven't seen that principle upheld. I wonder how that etiquette should be explained." Hmph, did she take him for a fool? If they were going to argue based on ancient practices, they might as well argue them all the way through.

"Who still adheres to such things nowadays..." Old Mrs. Han pouted.

Han Tao stared at Old Mrs. Han for a long time. "If we are to discuss etiquette, we must discuss all of it. Grandma, although you are a senior, you cannot just pick and choose the parts that favor you. Don't forget the agreement when the family divided assets: the eldest son's line left with nothing. The Han family provided no subsidy to the eldest son’s line whatsoever. For years, everyone lived peacefully; let’s just continue that way, wouldn't you say, Grandma?" [To be continued]